


Wrapped in Your Heartbeat

by ConstantConfuse



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Mitsuru is only mentioned briefly, Pneumonia, Sickfic, blood mention, bronchitis, but not like a lot, like in their early 20s, not sure what else to add, they're probably a little older than P4A here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7175468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantConfuse/pseuds/ConstantConfuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the day he's supposed to have a date with Fuuka, he would be sick...</p>
<p>Thankfully he doesn't have to go it alone. His girlfriend is smart enough to know when enough is enough.</p>
<p>A really long Fuupei sickfic that got way out of control for my best friend, lucineblue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wrapped in Your Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lucineblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucineblue/gifts).



> i am disappointed by how little fuupei there is in this fandom. it's not my main ship but it's cute as hell, so here i fixed it and added more
> 
> this is pretty much unbeta'd. i edited as i went, but there might still be mistakes. enjoy~

“Urk… _koff_!” His breath caught in his throat, and he lurched upwards, pounding on his chest, “Fucking sh— _koff, koff_!!”

“Hah… Hah… _kuh, hack_ … jesus…” He leaned forward, resting his forehead on his knees as he panted, desperately trying to draw air back into his congested lungs. A soft hand rested on his shoulder and he shifted to look at its owner.

Green eyes, teal hair framing a round face… His fevered brain took its time bringing her features into focus, “Fuuka…”

She gave him a soft smile, kind and warm, “Hi, Junpei. I let myself in, I hope that’s okay?”

He huffed a short laugh, “’s what I gave you a key for, babe.”

“I know, but I guess I’m still getting used to it,” she rubbed circles on his back through his shirt, “Not feeling any better?”

Junpei groaned and shook his head on his knees, “No… sorry, Fuuka,” he tried to stifle coughs into his sheets, but failed, “ _Koff Khoff koff_ …! Nn… I-I know we, h-had a date today but…” A miserable moan pulled from his throat, “This cold won’t let up…”

Fuuka shook her head, smoothing his shaggy hair back from his sweaty forehead. He leaned into her touch with a shaky breath, “Don’t apologize, Junpei. Though…” She pressed her hand fully to his forehead, and he _whimpered_. It was hot, more than just what a simple cold should be able to do, “You’re running a fever, still. Are you certain you don’t want to go to the doctor?”

“Nah... J-just a cold, no need…”

Fuuka frowned at him, “I’m beginning to wonder at this point…”

If he were to be completely honest with himself—which he wasn’t, obviously—Junpei was beginning to wonder himself…

He’d been sick since about this time last week, though he hadn’t told Fuuka that. For all she knew, this was a nasty cold from two days ago. What had started as minor fatigue and a small cough had mutated into this… this _fiasco_. Sleeping it off was his first try, then various over the counter medications, but nothing did more than relieve the symptoms for a couple of hours at most. He felt horrid, and not just physically; They’d made plans for today weeks ago, and he had to go and ruin it by catching whatever shitty bug was making the rounds… only he swore he had caught said bug’s mutant muscle freak of a cousin with how it had taken him down so badly. He’d felt horrible when Fuuka had texted him last night, brimming with excited emojis, and he’d had to blearily texted her back that he was sick. He’d woken up briefly an hour later to a barrage of concerned text messages that took him far too long to answer, in his own opinion. Not like he was sleeping much with how his lungs were trying to exit his chest every half hour… as a lovely bonus, his chest felt like he had a knife in it every time he coughed, or even breathed too deeply now.

He let out a pitiful whine as a shiver ran through him, “Nngh… I hate this…” His whole body ached and throbbed…

He let Fuuka push him back onto his pillows, sighing as she drew the blanket up to his chin, “Do you have a thermometer?” No answer. “Junpei?” She shook him lightly and he grumbled, “Did you hear me?”

“Mm? Oh, uh… no, it broke— _koff koff!_ —I haven’t replaced it yet…” He shivered again, his teeth chattering slightly, “Sh-Shit… ‘m cold as hell…” Fuuka was sitting on the side of his bed and he didn’t think he could reach his hoodie on the floor without falling, “Babe, can… can you give me the black hoodie by your feet?”

Fuuka pulled up the piece of clothing and handed it to him, “Do you want another blanket?”

He sat up again to wriggle into the jacket, “Yes, please… should be in the top of my closet…” he shuddered, “God, I’m— _ngh, hack khhooff khoff!_ —I’m so sorry about this…”

“Like I said, don’t apologize, okay? It couldn’t be helped. We can always reschedule a date, Junpei,” she brought the blanket and draped it over his shuddering body, “I’m going to buy you a thermometer and,” her gaze drifted to his bedside table, which was littered with medicine and drink bottles, “Probably clean up a bit… Do you want anything else?”

“Pocari…” was the sleepy mumble she got in response.

She smiled softly, “Okay, I’ll bring you some. Probably something to eat, as well.” He groaned at the thought.

\---

He dozed restlessly while Fuuka was out, kept awake by his coughing and the relentless ache in his joints. His body swung from hot to cold, leaving him a whimpering, miserable mess. He didn’t bother trying to keep up with his body; he was far too tired for that… He wound up miserably huddled in his bed after a mere 15 minutes and gave up on sleeping entirely.

“Fuck… this is the worst… urgh, _KOHFF!! Kohf koff kahff!_ ” he reached between his nightstand and bed for the tissues he kept there and cleared his throat into it, not even bothering to look anymore. He knew it was a weird color, but hey, the human body did some weird shit on its own, so it would sort itself out, right?

Fuuka came back around 10 minutes later, and Junpei shifted to look at her, his breathing coming in wheezy rasps. She had a bag in one hand and a small cup in the other; Steam was coming from the opening in the lid and she set it down on his desk, and rummaged in the bag for a small package. Oh, a thermometer… a nice one, too. A small smile made its way to his face. He honestly didn’t deserve this beautiful woman...

“W-Welcome back…” he rasped. God, he sounded horrible… he tried to clear his throat a bit, but that just triggered another coughing fit that had him sitting up, pounding his chest lightly to try and knock loose the phlegm.

Fuuka frowned in worry and rushed over to rub his back, thermometer in hand, “Oh, Junpei…”

“ _Kohff kohff kohff,_ t-ti… tissue…” He pointed to where the tissues were, next to a particularly full trash bin.

She scooped up the box and let him pluck one free, grimacing when he hacked painfully into it, “Urgh… okay, that’s it,” She turned on the thermometer to let it ready after his fit had subsided, “I’m taking your temperature. If it’s higher than 39C degrees, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Wha…! No, you don’t have to—!” he started to argue, but the absolute look of worry and determination on Fuuka’s face made him sigh in defeat, “Fine…”

Her shoulders sagged in relief, “Good… now, open up. I’ll give you your Pocari after this, as well as the miso soup I bought.” Junpei assumed she meant the still steaming cup on his desk.

“Honestly, I just want the Pocari…” he muttered before taking the thermometer and sticking it under his tongue.

Fuuka puffed her cheeks out adorably, god she was so cute, “No, you have to eat something! At least a little bit, okay?” He rolled his eyes as his only response, and she puffed her cheeks out further. Oh, be still his heart, this thermometer was hard enough to hold in place without smiling…

After a short amount of time it beeped, and Junpei took it. The readout made him groan and he showed it to Fuuka, “39.4C…” she read aloud. She bit her lip and stood from the bed, “I’m going to call a taxi, okay?” she handed him the Pocari and the miso soup, “At least drink a little of the miso? Please?”

He had placed his head in his hand and he peered at the proffered items before reluctantly taking the miso first, then the sports drink, “I’ll try…” he whispered.

While she was calling the taxi he took tentative sips of the miso. It tasted…well, horrible, since his sense of taste was out of whack from being sick, and it was murder on his stomach. He’d forgotten he hadn’t eaten anything in about a day... food had just been entirely unappealing.

He had to duck his head for another fit of coughing, but this one was persistent. He barely managed to get the miso onto his night table before he doubled over, wheezing and hacking into his palm. With no chance to grab a tissue he just let the phlegm hit his palm, grimacing at the sliminess, “Haa… haa… haa— _kohff kahff kahff_ …” he gingerly looked at the mess in his palm...

And stopped breathing.

“Fuuka—“

“Junpei, I’m still on the phone, just a sec—“

“No, t-tell them to hurry, okay?”

“H-Huh? Junpei, is--?”

He showed her his palm, and her eyes widened. Rusty brown was splattered on his palm and she turned back to her phone call with a new sense of urgency in her voice.

He shakily sighed and grabbed a tissue to wipe the mess off his palm.

Junpei was silently glad that he wasn’t alone for this, right now. He watched Fuuka hang up the phone and come sit next to him. She pulled him into her arms, almost entirely into her lap, and he buried his face into the crook of her neck with a raspy whine. He felt one of the blankets drape around his shoulders and her arms settle around him, and he settled his around her in return.

She pressed her lips to his hair, “Rest until the taxi gets here, okay?”

He nodded, holding her tighter.

\---

The taxi ride to the hospital would have been embarrassing, if he’d been conscious enough to remember most of it. As it was, all Junpei could recall was a hazy blur of hot and cold, as well as Fuuka’s gentle hands carding through his sweaty hair as he all but laid on her in the back seat. He also remembered his coughing being even more disgusting due to the face mask Fuuka had found and asked him to wear. He hated it, but he agreed nonetheless.

The hospital itself, though, was much worse. When the doctor finally called him to be examined and he’d had to list his symptoms and how long he’d actually had them, he’d thought that Fuuka was going to lose it. The doctor was definitely unimpressed with him, that much he could tell. The doctor took what he called a sputum sample (which sounded gross and was pretty awful, actually) and left him with the quietly burning shame in his chest, and the not so quiet anger that was radiating off of Fuuka.

Junpei looked up at her pitifully and saw her sitting with her hands clasped tightly in her lap in the chair next to his. He could tell her jaw was clenched from how her lips were pressed together. He let out a short, gloomy sigh and leaned to press his head to her shoulder. His spirits lifted slightly when her hand came up to scratch at his scalp lightly and he let out a soft noise before he looked up at her, “’m sorry… that I lied.”

She looked at him then, and he knew that yes, she was angry. But mostly, she was horribly, horribly worried. She pressed her lips to his forehead and he made another small murmur. She rested her cheek against his head and was quiet for a while before she spoke, “I… I just…” she sighed, and looked at him properly, “I just want you to take care of yourself, Junpei. That’s all. I-I love you, and care about you, and seeing you this sick… it scared me. Next time, please go to the doctor?” She looked at him again; all the anger was gone and was replaced with a warm, loving gaze. Junpei felt his heart skip a beat and was, for once, grateful for the face mask covering his burning cheeks.

“J-Jeez, Fuuka… you’re gonna kill me one day with how cute you are…” he mumbled into her shoulder.

She blushed, “W-Well! Y-You can’t die today, okay?!”

He laughed quietly, suppressing a cough, “ _Hrnn…_ I won’t. Promise.”

\---

After a short wait, Junpei was taken away for a chest X-ray. Fuuka held onto his shirt and jacket while he was led away in a paper hospital gown. He missed his jacket almost immediately; the paper gown had him shivering in the chilly hospital air. The nurse who was with him gave him a sympathetic smile, “Don’t worry, this won’t take long, Iori-san.”

He led him into the room for the X-ray and the technologist had him stand very still in a couple of poses. They weren’t too hard, but holding his breath was challenging when his lungs tried to spasm every few minutes. Another nurse came in and quietly informed the technologist of something once they were done, and he was then handed his clothing. He thought that was kind of odd, but he didn’t question it much. Fuuka might’ve had to leave, after all, since she was a part of the Shadow Ops… the thought made him a little sad. Oh well, at least he had his hoodie back.

When he was led out again, he was taken back a different direction. Curious, he quietly asked the nurse, “Weren’t we the other way…?”

“Ah, they might keep you overnight for observation, so they set up a room for you. That’s where we’re headed,” she answered cheerfully. Junpei groaned under his breath. Great, that’s the last thing he needed… Fuuka was going to be upset again, probably.

When they got to the room, Junpei was surprised by how nice it was. It seemed almost like a room for VIPs or something and he stopped walking for a second in shock, “Eh…?”

“Now, Iori-san, if you would come here, please?” The nurse gestured to the bed politely. He nodded and walked over to sit stiffly on the bed. She gave him a kind smile, “You can remove your shoes and lay back. Don’t be so nervous!”

After he was settled and the nurse had taken his vitals again, he leaned back in the bed, sighing roughly. She said she would be back in a few minutes, saying something about an IV… he had honestly stopped paying too much attention. He shivered every so often and he wondered if his fever was rising.

He thought he had only closed his eyes for a second, but when he opened them again Fuuka was sitting beside his bed and petting his hair. The blanket, nice for a hospital, was pulled up to his chest and he was pleasantly warm for not having his hoodie on, apparently. He shifted his arm and felt something taped there… oh, it was an IV. He blinked at it blankly for a moment, amazed at his ability to sleep through that. He must have passed out for a bit then…

A soft giggle made him look to his girlfriend, “What?”

“You’re looking at that IV like it offended you.”

Junpei frowned, “Nah… just amazed I slept through that…” he coughed briefly, trying to clear his throat again when he heard how congested his voice was, “Mmrghh… how long was I asleep?” He leaned his head into Fuuka’s petting.

“Only about 45 minutes,” she scratched his scalp like she had earlier and he let out a happy groan.

“Mm… Any word yet?” he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of her touch. Her fingers were cool through his hair, so he still must have been running a fever.

She shook her head, “Not yet, but I did get a call from Mitsuru-senpai. She had something for us for the Shadow Ops and I had to turn her down… so I had to tell her about this,” he groaned at that, but Fuuka quickly reassured him, “Don’t sound so down, she pulled strings for us. I tried to tell her it wasn’t necessary, but she wouldn’t listen, of course…” she sighed and rested her chin on her palm, her elbow resting on the bed.

Junpei hummed; that sounded like Mitsuru, alright. Well he couldn’t really complain, since it had landed him in a nice room in an actually comfy bed…

They stayed like that until a doctor came to give them the diagnosis. He mostly tuned out the conversation, since once the doctor saw he was nearly dozing, he directed his focus to Fuuka who listened with rapt attention. He did catch bits about his X-rays and the symptoms he listed, and he heard what was wrong with him.

Bronchitis that had complicated into pneumonia. It was a good thing they came when they did. The blood from earlier had been because of the bronchitis, and wasn’t a serious problem. He was relieved to hear that, at least, “He should be able to go home once we get the antibiotic IV done. We’ll get that started after the antipyretic is finished and his fever has come down a bit.”

He watched with half-open eyes as Fuuka stood, “Thank you so much, doctor.” She gave a short bow and a heartwarming smile. The doctor returned it with a shy grin.

“It’s no problem.” Noticing that Junpei was more awake now, he stepped closer to him, “You’ve got a nice girlfriend, Iori-san. I’m sure she’ll take good care of you when you go home.”

He huffed out a dry laugh, “She’s too good for me, doc… pretty sure I don’t deserve her after this.”

Fuuka put her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze, “I’ll make sure he recovers and takes his medicine.”

The doctor nodded, “Good to hear. Now, Iori-san…” The doctor gave him a basic rundown of what he needed to do: plenty of rest, plenty of fluids, take all of the antibiotics once he gets the prescription… exactly what he expected.

He sighed once the doctor took his leave, “…Wanna go home…”

Fuuka chuckled and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead, “We’ll be going soon. Just rest until then. Okay?”

He nodded drowsily and closed his eyes. His fever was lower, he could tell, but he was still achy… but Fuuka’s calming presence helped him drift off into a light nap.

\---

They didn’t take a taxi back to Junpei’s place. Instead, a sleek black car met them at the entrance of the hospital. Kirijo influence at its best, he thought. He didn’t mind at all as long as he got to go home to his own bed and his own home. He hated hospitals… he hoped he didn’t have to be back for a long time. He dozed on the way back, head in Fuuka’s lap. He groggily made his way back into his room, and bee-lined straight for his bed. In an instant his shoes were off and he was buried again under his blankets with a long moan of relief.

Fuuka smiled to herself as he made himself comfortable, “Need anything, Junpei?”

“Mm-mm…” he shook his head slowly, but he stopped, opening his eyes again to look at her, “…actually…” he held his hand out to her, fingers flexing in a grabbing motion. She giggled and sat on the bed by him. Almost instantly his arms wrapped around her and he cuddled close, “Stay here with me…?” his voice was soft, almost a whisper.

Her smile only grew, “Sure, Junpei. I’m borrowing some pajamas, then.”

She stood up to change and he watched her sleepily, following her as she moved across the room. He hummed appreciatively as she started to change, but made a disappointed sound when she changed her mind and went into the bathroom instead.

She playfully stuck her tongue out at him, “I’ll be right back, you big baby.”

He scooted to the side to make room for her in his bed and she slid under the blankets after turning off the lights. The sun was already starting to set, casting the room in soft orange light through the blinds. He looked at Fuuka, dressed in his shirt and pants that were way too big for her, and sighed softly.

“What did I do to deserve you…” he mumbled before wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into her chest.

She went pink and wrapped her arms around him in return, holding him close, “Well, I could make a list. If you want.”

He chuckled tiredly, “Later…”

Fuuka smiled, pressing her face against the top of his head as she hugged him tight, “Later, then…”

They fell asleep, legs tangled together, the sound of Fuuka’s heartbeat strong in Junpei’s ears. He knew he was in good hands… for now, and for the future as well.

**Author's Note:**

> almost 3.k of indulgent sickfic. that seems to be most of my fics....
> 
> im not sorry.
> 
> also inspiration for this came from lucineblue on tumblr, who is my best bud, and my roommate getting sick. and then giving it to me because shit rolls downhill apparently.
> 
> also im not sorry for all the cough sound effects. they were fun to write kekeke


End file.
